Clearview Class Action Says Facial Scans Collected, Sold To Police

Clearview AI Inc. has been hit with a class action lawsuit by individuals who claim the company collects the images of billions of people and sells those pictures to law enforcement agencies across the country.

Plaintiff David Mutnick says he posted pictures of himself on the internet that were “scraped” by the defendant without his consent. The plaintiff claims that in most cases, the terms of service on these internet sites prohibit scraping technology.

The Clearview class action states that law enforcement agencies are now using the defendant’s database even though none of the individuals in the data have been arrested or convicted of a crime.

“Yet these criminal investigatory records are being maintained on them, and provide government almost instantaneous access to almost every aspect of their digital lives,” the Clearview AI class action lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiff claims that the technology provides a “massive surveillance state” which has files on every individual, despite the fact that these individuals have done nothing wrong. In addition, the plaintiff says the defendant’s financial backers alluded to a “dystopian future.”

“Anyone utilizing the technology could determine the identities of people as they walked down the street, attended a political rally or enjoyed time in public with their families,” the Clearview class action states.

Mutnick claims that Clearview is controlling the database privately, which means that they are obtaining real-time access to criminal investigations. Mutnick alleges that the defendant is “enmeshed in the use of state power against individual American citizens and, further, has the unique opportunity to tipoff and/or extort suspects.”

In addition, the plaintiff states that Clearview’s business model “blatantly” violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) and thus they are bringing claims on behalf of the citizens of Illinois who are in the database.

Biometric data is biologically unique to the individual. If compromised, there is a heightened risk of identity theft. The BIPA was put into place to safeguard an individual’s biometric information.

Mutnick alleges that even though Clearview has created and developed their technology with law enforcement, the technology is being used by other companies, such as banks and retail loss prevention specialists.

In addition, Clearview has allegedly been exploring the technology to allow a white supremacist to conduct what they call “extreme opposition research” and developed ways to put the technology to use through wearable glasses that can be worn by private citizens.

“Clearview developed its technology to invade the privacy of the American public and monetize citizens’ rights for its own profit,” the Clearview class action lawsuit states.

“In violation of BIPA, Defendants collected, captured and otherwise obtained individuals’ biometric identifiers and information – including, on information and belief, the biometric identifiers and information of Plaintiff and Class Members – without providing the requisite written information and without obtaining the requisite written releases,” the class action lawsuit claims.

In related legal news, in the U.K. Court of Appeal, automatic facial recognition technology used by the South Wales Police has been found illegal. The South Wales Police have been found in breach of the public’s privacy rights after using automatic facial recognition to help identify persons of interest.

What are your thoughts on the database maintained by Clearview? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiffs are represented by Arthur Loevy, Michael Kanovitz, Jon Loevy and Scott R. Drury of Loevy & Loevy.

The Clearview Biometric Data Class Action Lawsuit is David Mutnick v. Clearview AI Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-00512, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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